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I've never found a covered litter box did anything to discourage a dog from raiding cat poop. You can get all sorts of boxes though that will make it hard for dogs to get in but they tend to be expensive! The easiest approach is to have litter boxes in places the cats can access but dogs cannot.

Most cats incidentally, dislike using covered litter boxes -- same reason we tend to dislike portable outdoor toilets. Small enclosed space where you have to smell everything that has been done inside that small space. Ugh. Many cats will tolerate a covered a box. But it is a lot nicer for cats to not have to use them. And often the main reason cats stop using a litter box is because they finally have had enough of a covered box.

Hooded or covered litter boxes are popular with consumers, but if cats did the shopping, they would be left on the shelves. Humans do not want to see or smell what kitty leaves behind in the litter box, but for that matter, neither does kitty. The hooded litter box forces him to enter a cramped, cave-like structure that concentrates odors, creating an outhouse effect. Since the cat's sense of smell is at least 14 times more sensitive than ours, this may be all it takes to send kitty in search of a fresher smelling toilet area...

I guess that makes sence.. I don't like using outhouses.. theyre pretty dirty and gross...adn they have A LOT of bugs.
i think im more afraid of bugs then anything else about outhouses..
although..we recently had THE ENTIRE family over and the topic of outhouses came up...according to both my cousins..when we were younger..there was a man arrested for hiding in the bottom of outhouses...aparently he found this arousing? thats disgusitng..an i googled it but found nothing lol so i think they're wrong. but.. while the topics here..thought id pass that along

im just glad i got to the bottom of it.. at 16 hes got a few minor health issues and that was one thing that sent alarm bells.

bwahahha..yes.. i got the count down going.. Dad and i are going over on saturday to meet them. im thrilled. They are now fluffy, have opened their eyes..are starting to walk around (aparently like drunkin soldiers) and have had a taste of solid food (well i wouldnt call it solid..but its not mums milk.

Oliver and Max and Meeko man, i will meet you at the Rainbow bridge. I love you all. Miss you more then you'll ever know.
wait for me...
Chelsea

It's so funny you mention this because I have just recently started having problems with both the litter box and the food with the kitties and Lady. Lady is not very interested in the actual poo in the box. The box I have is covered and my fat girl can't stand covered boxes but I finally found one at Target or Petsmart that was tall enough that she didn't mind it. I think the ones that are very tall don't annoy the kitties as much and has actually kept Lady from getting IN it quite well. We just made sure we always gave her our annoying "EH EH!" command when she got near. However, when one of the cats feels extremely ignored by us, they will poo on the floor right next to the box just to peeve us off. If Lady sees it she will run RIGHT up to it and try to eat/lick it. EWWWWWW! We've dealt with that twice, and I don't think there's any getting around it when it's right out in plain sight. I would suggest finding the tallest one you can find or try the clever cat. We had luck with this box for a while and then they all of a sudden hated it after a year. It may work for you!

As for the food, that was a real struggle b/c our kitties are just as crazy about food as Lady. All 3 of them beg, beg, beg for food and know EXACTLY when dinner-time is and try to eat each others meals. We feed Lady twice a day and the cats as well. We've found that feeding the kitties inside (they're indoor kitties) and Lady outside at the same time works best...they finish eating at the same time, separated. I don't know if this will work if you free feed your kitties. Luckily, we can't free feed ours b/c they are extremely plump and on a diet...and eat it in 10 seconds flat anyway.

Sometimes I wonder how much easier it would be if I wasn't chasing around 3 animals...all with extremely outgoing diva personalities.

I couldn't figure out anything that has worked, so we finally put up a baby gate in the room where we keep the litter. This way Sonny can't get through, but our cat can easily jump over. We bought a gate that you can open and close, so you don't have to climb over it every time. This is the best solution we have found!